Aviva Investors appoints Head of Institutional for EMEA region

28 May 2024

(London) – Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc, announces it has appointed Steven Gardner as Head of Institutional, EMEA.

Reporting to Jill Barber, Chief Distribution Officer, Steven will be responsible for developing Aviva Investors’ institutional strategy across the UK and EMEA regions, in-line with the firm’s global growth objectives. He will join the business in August, subject to regulatory approval.

Steven joins Aviva Investors from Berenberg where he led its UK asset management team as Head of Asset Management Sales & Client Relations. After starting his career as a private equity analyst at Standard Life Investments, he has since focused on managing institutional client relationships and sales. He has held roles at asset managers including Baillie Gifford, Barings, Franklin Templeton and Jupiter Asset Management, being responsible for driving new business with institutional clients globally across all major asset classes.

Steven’s appointment comes as Aviva Investors continues to grow its distribution team, having hired Jill Barber as Global Head of Distribution in July 2023.

It also follows the launch of two Long-Term Asset Funds (LTAFs) by the firm, designed to help UK institutional investors access long-term assets more efficiently. In May 2023, the firm announced the creation of its Real Estate Active LTAF (REALTAF), followed by the conversion of its Climate Transition Real Assets Fund to sit under the new regime in March this year.

Jill Barber, Chief Distribution Officer at Aviva Investors, said:

“I am delighted to welcome Steven to Aviva Investors, as we strengthen our distribution capabilities to ensure we can continue meeting the evolving needs of institutional clients. With his track record across a broad range of asset managers and his client centric ethos, Steven brings a great deal of experience to the team. I am sure his insights will be hugely valuable as we continue to help institutional clients navigate near-term challenges and reach their long-term investment goals, all of which are critical to the future growth of our business.”

For more information contact:

Steve Ainger

Head of Media Relations

James Morgan

Media Relations Manager

Laura Cocker

Media Relations Manager

Important information

Key Risks

The value of an investment and any income from it can go down as well as up and can fluctuate in response to changes in currency exchange rates. Investors may not get back the original amount invested. Where funds are invested in real estate / infrastructure, investors may not be able to switch or cash in an investment when they want because real estate/infrastructure may not always be readily saleable. If this is the case we may defer a request to switch or cash in shares or units. Investors should also bear in mind that the valuation of real estate is generally a matter of valuers’ opinion rather than fact.

Sustainable Investing Risk

The level of sustainability risk to which the Fund is exposed, and therefore the value of its investments, may fluctuate depending on the investment opportunities identified by the Investment Manager.

The information and opinions contained in this document are for use by the financial press and media only. No reliance may be placed for any purpose on the information or opinions contained in this document nor should they be seen as advice.

The press release is provided on the basis that Aviva Investors Global Services Limited is not causing the communication of a financial promotion under exemption of the Financial Promotion Order, as Aviva Investors Global Services Limited has no control over the way in which an article based on this press release is prepared and published by the financial press and media.

Except where stated as otherwise, the source of all information is Aviva Investors Global Services Limited (“Aviva Investors”) as 21 September 2023. Unless stated otherwise any views, opinions expressed are those of Aviva Investors. They should not be viewed as indicating any guarantee of return from an investment managed by Aviva Investors nor as advice of any nature. The value of an investment and any income from it may go down as well as up and the investor may not get back the original amount invested.

Issued by Aviva Investors Global Services Limited, registered in England No. 1151805. Registered Office: 80 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 4AE. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Aviva Investors

Aviva Investors is the global asset management business of Aviva plc. The business delivers investment management solutions, services and client-driven performance to clients worldwide. Aviva Investors operates in 14 countries in Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and the United Kingdom with £218 billion in assets under management as at 30 June 2023..

AVIVA PLC

Notes to editors:

·        We are one of the UK’s leading Insurance, Wealth & Retirement businesses and we operate in the UK, Ireland and Canada. We also have international investments in India, China and Singapore.

·        We help our 18.7 million customers make the most out of life, plan for the future, and have the confidence that if things go wrong we’ll be there to put it right.

·        We have been taking care of people for more than 325 years, in line with our purpose of being ‘with you today, for a better tomorrow’. In 2022, we paid £23.2 billion in claims and benefits to our customers.

·         Aviva is a market leader in sustainability. In 2021, we announced our plan to become Net Zero by 2040, the first major insurance company in the world to do so. This plan means Net Zero carbon emissions from our investments by 2040; setting out a clear pathway to get there with a cut of 25% in the carbon intensity of our investments by 2025 and of 60% by 2030; and Net Zero carbon emissions from our own operations and supply chain by 2030.  Find out more about our climate goals at www.aviva.com/climate-goals and our sustainability ambition and action at www.aviva.com/sustainability

·         While we are working towards our sustainability ambitions, we acknowledge that we have relationships with businesses and existing assets that may be associated with significant emissions. More information can be found at https://www.aviva.com/sustainability/climate/

·         Aviva is a Living Wage and Living Hours employer and provides market-leading benefits for our people, including flexible working, paid carers leave and equal parental leave. Find out more at https://www.aviva.com/about-us/our-people/

·         As at 31 December 2022, total Group assets under management at Aviva Group were £352 billion and our estimated Solvency II shareholder surplus is £8.7 billion. Our shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and we are a member of the FTSE 100 index.

·         For more details on what we do, our business and how we help our customers, visit www.aviva.com/about-us  

·         The Aviva newsroom at www.aviva.com/newsroom includes links to our spokespeople images,  podcasts, research reports and our news release archive. Sign up to get the latest news from Aviva by email.

·         You can follow us on:

·         Twitter: www.twitter.com/avivaplc/  

·         LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/aviva-plc

·         Instagram: www.instagram.com/avivaplc

·         For the latest corporate films from around our business, subscribe to our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/aviva

 

Aviva Investors Global Services Limited

80 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 4AE

Phone          +44 (0)20 7809 6000

Fax                +44 (0)20 7489 7940

Web              www.avivainvestors.com

Email           info@avivainvestors.com

 

Issued by Aviva Investors Global Services Limited, registered in England No. 1151805.

Registered Office: 80 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 4AE. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and a member of the Investment Association.

Telephone calls may be recorded for training and monitoring purposes.